Messy space = creative space: Boundary work in organizational creativity

Book chapter, 2023

It is common knowledge that an organization can stimulate (or kill) creativity among its employees through office design, with colors and playful toys numbering among the key ingredients believed to make people creative. What is less known is how these and other spatial qualities influence work. This study looks at the connection between the space and creative work, with the help of boundary work. Using ethnographic methods, this study reveals how people mobilize and set up creative spaces (agencing space), and how such space helps (or doesn’t) people to work creatively (spatial agencing). Four different creative spaces are analyzed: hackathons, design thinking workshops, an innovation room, and an innovation helpdesk. It is shown how these spaces for creation can make creative practices legitimate, how temporality creates a sense of urgency, and how messiness signals what is expected of people. Furthermore, it is also shown how boundary practices help people engage in creative work.